New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1887-10-09

TIE PASSING OF THOM4S JEFFERSON.
And still the iconoclast is with us. That
little sledgchammer of his keeps In notion
and how our idols do catch it 1t was but yes
tcrday that Mr. Astor, during the leisure mo-
mcnts of an Envoy Extraordinary and Minister
Plenipotentiary to Italy, discovered that Luz
crotia BOrgia possibly was not all the popular
fancy paints her. Mr. Astor did not roommate her
for canonization, but he did insist that Lucrctia
was hardly the accomplished sinner which she
is represented as being by those who point
morals. adorn tales and utter shocking warn
ings Just as we were all pulling ourselves
together after that blow at the established order,
along came an army officer, well connected on
both his fathers and his mothers side ana
himself church member in good standing,
who solcmnly declared that the great wall OF
China was all in your eve. To give force to
his assertion this trustworthy son OF Mars
agreed that if any one would undertake to
find him the wall in question, or to show
that it ever was to be found. he would cat it..
Obviously he must have had entire faith in the
non-cxistcnce Of the wall or he never would
have issued this audacous challenge. For
although the digestion Of army officers, as "a
rule is in admirable order and Of great Vigor,
no man could consume asmal ordinary wall,
to say nothing about Chinas, without pcrma
ncnt injury to his health The stomach cannot
be macadamizcd with impunity. No sooner
had this iconoclast taken his seat than seven
teen missionaries who had spent many years
in China arose and remarked as one man
and he a man with blood in his cyC-that the
army)lliccr was a liTand that they could prove
it, They have engaged in the task Of proving
it ever since, not only with their own ailidayits
tcstifying that "pcrsonaly we have seen the
wall" but by photographs Of the mammoth
masonry "tallcn on the spot" At this
writing the wall may be said TO be
still standing in tic common belief. But
il is to be feared that it can never be to
the masses what il once was. \ Cgsarcan wife
and a Chinese wall which are not above sus-
picion can have no permanent grip upon popu-
lar appreciation.
Then there is jefferson, Thomas Jefferson.
He must go-in fact. he has gone. OF course,
be will still hold his place in the Cyclopa das
and "Thc Lives Of the Presidents" but the
jefferson who has been known to the major.y.
the essential jefferson. the Characteristic Jcilcr-
with a knife. picked bis teeth with FORK ana
had his dninc-room decorated with an uLos
tcu.atouS tidy bearing the legend, "Get ccor
omy, get parsimony. and with all thy get
ing get pcnuriouSncSs'-that Jefferson has been
smashed To pieces IKE potter vessel. One
Of his collateral descendants tells Iis that his
ancestor was no such man. Thomas Jefferson
given to JclTcrsonian simplicity? Nonsense,
saws the collateral descendant; he was-yc gods
listen and We little fishes give ear" what
would be called nowadays swell" That
settles it, 1t is wise collateral descendant
that knows his own great grandfather. Thomas
Jefferson was Il swell, not dude, you know,
but swell
lconoclasm is certainly keeping pace with
the other industries OF the age. Further de-
vclopmcnts will be awaited with interest. by
the way is it true that Mrs Hcmans was the
real author Of the rules for the government OF
prize fights which are commonly attributed
10 the Marquis Of Quccnsbcrry? They don't
sound like her. but We would like to hear
from a collateral descendant Of hers.